The New Royalty: EU President Costs €6 Million Per Year, Free Viagra For MEPs

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Thanks to a question by British MP Lord Stoddart of Swindon it is revealed that the newly installed - but not elected - EU president Herman van Rompuy costs Europeans €6 million annually in salaries, office and travel expenses. This comes on the heels of news that the EU wants to collect its own tax.
From UK parliament communications:

...what is the annual cost of the Presidency of the European Council; and how it is met?
Answer by Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence, Lord Astor of Hever: In 2010, the cost of the office of the President of the European Council, including staff, travel expenses and salary, is €6 million. The cost is being met this year from within the EU's annual budget, using funds which had been previously allocated to other Council projects. The budget for the office of the President of the European Council in 2011, like all other EU institutions, is currently being decided as part of ongoing negotiations on the EU's budget for next year.

You Pay: Free Viagra and Penile Implants for MEPs
The hubris of the Moloch in Brussels does not stop here. The UK Independent Party has found out that members of the EU parliament (EP) are entitled to

Free Viagra
Free Methadone
Free penile implants
Public funding for massages and feng shui
Mud baths
Hydromassage

This makes one wonder whether the EP may be a secret erotic spa.
I can only fully agree with the UK's Taxpayers Alliance who commented in the Sun:

"Taxpayers expect to see their money spent on providing essential services, not Viagra. The Government should insist on a better deal from Brussels."

The UKIP was not so gentle and I think they find the right words:

Marta Andreasen, an MEP for the party, said: "It is utterly bonkers what British taxpayers are funding for Eurocrats.
"Surely if they want these things, they should be able to pay themselves. It is a total waste of taxpayers' cash."

The official EU guidelines for claims says acccording to MEP John Bufton: "Treatments with Viagra will from now on be reimbursable."
I certainly don't want to jump to any saucy conclusions, but these special treats are utterly despicable. Does this mean the EP is not only politically impotent?
Can the European Parliament please return to earth and have a look around! Sponsoring Brussels massage salons is not an EP task.